Batman Gets Ticked at Superman for Betraying His Trust

DC’s Trinity may have just fractured.

By Joshua Yehl

DC Comics’ Heroes in Crisis #4 from writer Tom King and artist Clay Mann delivered a stunning twist that looks like it’s going to rock both the foundations of the DC Universe and the relationships between the trinity of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

Warning: full spoilers for Heroes in Crisis ahead!

Heroes in Crisis is based around DC’s heroes trying to solve the case of a mass killing at a secret treatment center for superheroes called Sanctuary. As of this issue, forensic scientist Flash believes the killer is Booster Gold while world’s greatest detective Batman think it’s Harley Quinn, but getting closer to the identity of the killer isn’t what caused all the hubbub.

Sanctuary is a place where heroes can go to receive treatment for PTSD-type symptoms that are a result of suffering violence and trauma while fighting crime. The main form of treatment is for heroes to give confessions in an effort for them to get to the root of their issues, and while Batman built the place to be secure (along with some help from Superman and Woman), we learned that a mystery character known as the “Puddler” (who might also be the killer) has video footage of each confession and has been sending them to Lois Lane. As a reporter, Lois is duty bound to report on the confessions -- even if there will likely be consequences for Sanctuary’s superhero patients when their most personal secrets are revealed to the public. The ending of Heroes in Crisis #4 saw her story go live, immediately sending shockwaves across the DCU. When Batgirl hears the news, she says the reveal of Sanctuary will change the world, to which Harley Quinn responds, “Okay. Good. &$@@ the world. It needs changing.”

Just as the news was going live, Superman met up with Batman and Wonder Woman in the Batcave to tell them about what Lois was publishing, giving them no time to stop it from going viral. But the sticking point for Batman was Superman knew Lois was secretly receiving intel on Sanctuary from a suspicious source for a few days, yet he said nothing. Superman apologizes, but Batman is furious, losing his usual cool demeanor and pointing his finger into Superman’s chest, chastising the Man of Steel for not sharing vital information that would have helped with the murder investigation.

Art by Clay Mann. (Image Credit: DC Entertainment)

Superman was clearly conflicted about staying silent on the matter and doesn’t have much to say in his defense other than stating that it wasn’t his place to betray Lois’s trust. As we all know, Superman is bound by his morality above all else. He’s supposed to be a moral beacon of hope to the world who always makes decisions based on his impossibly optimistic views on truth and justice. His decisions are always supposed to be the “right” answer because, well, he’s Superman. He’s also a journalist, a profession with an ingrained set of ethics where all stories must be accurate, fair and thorough, and sources must be kept confidential when necessary. Further complicating matters, he’s married to a fellow reporter in Lois Lane, so as her husband he’s committed to loving, protecting, and respecting her both as his wife and as a professional. Typically Superman sees the world in black and white where it’s easy for him to decide what’s right and what’s wrong, but Heroes in Crisis put him in a rare, uncomfortable gray area that even his many great powers couldn’t help him escape.

That, however, doesn’t sit well with Batman, who has a far more aggressive and brutal approach to dishing out what he sees as justice. Then again, Batman is a master of spying, clandestine operations, and keeping secrets, so he doesn’t have much ground to stand on when it comes to blaming Superman. Still, we might have just witnessed the fracturing of DC’s Trinity. Wonder Woman didn’t express much more than shock at Superman’s actions, so we’ll have to wait and see where she stands on the matter given that her trusty lasso makes her a virtual paragon of truth.

Thus far all of the heroes have been on the same side, but will Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman be able to deal with all of their innermost traumas being broadcast to the public and catch the murderer responsible if they can’t trust each other? Heroes in Crisis is only just approaching the halfway point, so we’ll have to wait to find out.

Joshua is Senior Editor of IGN Comics. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.